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Hello, Laios, it's Kabru. I'm sorry to spring this on you all of a sudden, but my next class has been cancelled, and seeing as I will now have to wait nearly two hours for the next one after that, I thought that I might as well ask if you would like me to come over, assuming that you are home right now, or to meet me in town in the event that you aren't. Kabru typed the message up as he walked down the hallway, stopped to read it back about half a dozen times before he sent it, and immediately began frantically typing up another one: No pressure, of course. I understand that I'm writing to you on very short notice, and you may have other plans already, but I figured that I should let you know that I'm available just in case. I'm going to see you this weekend regardless, to be clear. I hope you're doing well. I miss you, baby. After a moment of hesitation, he decided to erase the final sentence before confirming that he wanted to send the message. He put the phone in his pocket, took a step forward, and immediately took it out again, tapping his foot on the floor and idly chewing on his fingernails as he waited for Laios' response.
A text from Laios came only a few seconds after Kabru's second message, drawing a soft gasp out of him as he jumped in place. Kabru's heart pounded in his chest as he opened the message, subconsciously holding his breath. His smile dropped as soon as he saw that it consisted of only two letters: OK. Kabru squinted helplessly at the screen, rubbing his temple. OK? OK, what? What was that supposed to mean? At this point, he was more or less used to Laios' text messages usually being quite short, but this was definitely a step too far. What, exactly, was he saying OK to? The idea of Kabru coming over? Intuitively, that explanation made the most sense, as Kabru could easily imagine Laios making it to the part of the message where he suggested that he could come over, and being so excited about it that he didn't even bother to read the rest of it before typing up his answer. In that case, one could hope that he would have gone back to read the rest of it and realised that he needed to clarify what he meant in a follow-up text. Otherwise, Kabru would have to call him, which he couldn't comfortably do until he was out of the building.
Kabru impatiently clicked his tongue, shook his head and put his phone back in his pocket with a resigned sigh back. He approached the staircase, and, just as he was about to take his first step, he received another text message. Tightly gripping the railing with one hand, he frantically fished the phone out of his pocket again to check it out. As expected, this one came from Laios, too. The message was short, not that much longer than the first one, but unlike the last one, it told him everything he needed to know: I'm home. Come over. Kabru read the line of text a number of times, grinning to himself, before he finally shoved the phone back into his pockets and flew down the stairs, with no regard for where his feet may have landed – frankly, it was an absolute miracle that he hadn't tripped and fallen to his death. Once he reached the bottom of the stairs he kept up the momentum as he busted through the front door and jogged across campus, heading for the main gate. He rushed past it and continued on his way to Laios' house.
If one were to walk at a leisurely pace, it would typically take about five minutes to get from campus to the building where Laios lived. Kabru, having run the entire way, managed to make it in about half that time. He only started to slow down as he approached the front door, and promptly collapsed as soon as he came to a stop, wheezing, coughing and struggling to catch his breath, clutching his chest in hopes of containing his throbbing heart, his face flushed from exertion and drenched in sweat, his legs shaking uncontrollably as his knees threatened to buckle under him. Holding on to the doorknob for dear life, he reached out to press the button on the intercom. One, two, three, and he took his finger off the button and wiped his forehead with the back of his hand.
After about thirty seconds, a soft buzzing sound came from the door, indicating that it had been unlocked. Kabru instantly pulled the doorknob and stepped inside, heading straight for the spiral staircase, which he proceeded to climb, skipping multiple steps along the way. Ascending the stairs was, naturally, a much slower process than descending them, as he'd done earlier. All things considered, that was probably a good thing, as it forced him to be the slightest bit more cautious about the placement of his feet on the steps. On the other hand, having to actively work against the force of gravity demanded a much bigger energy investment. By the time he made it to the top of the stairs, where Laios stood waiting for him with outstretched, inviting arms, he was so exhausted that he tripped over the final step and dove face-first into Laios' pillowy chest.
“Whoa, careful!” Laios cried as he caught Kabru's body in a tight embrace and subtly manoeuvred him away from the staircase. “That looked pretty dangerous! Are you okay?” he asked, massaging Kabru's shoulders while he attempted to look into his face. “Wow, you're super sweaty!” he observed, absent-mindedly wiping his hand on his shirt. “Did you run all the way here, or something? You came so fast that I didn't even get to finish making snacks for you,” he went on rambling anxiously as he headed towards the door, pulling Kabru along with him.
Kabru slightly tilted his head so that he could breathe, but his cheek remained resting against Laios' chest. “That's correct, I did run,” he said, his voice a little breathless and mumbling. “In hindsight, admittedly, it probably wasn't the smartest move on my part,” he admitted self-critically, crinkling his eyebrows, as he slowly pulled away from Laios so that he could take off his shoes. “All I got out of it was a shortness of breath and a pair of very sore legs. Whatever time I may have saved, I assuredly lost while I waited for you to open the door. I don't know what possessed me to do all that,” he sighed, rubbing his temple. “I suppose I was simply too excited to think reasonably. The only thought in my mind was that I wanted to see you as soon as I possibly could.”
Laios stared at him with large, twinkling eyes, his mouth hanging agape, his cheeks flushed lightly. “Huh, really? That excited...?” he whispered in awe, hiding a wide smile behind his hand. “Aw, shucks! Hehe, that's kind of cute...” he murmured fondly, stroking his cheek with his index finger, obviously pleased with Kabru's words. “All right,” he said, clasping his hands together. “I guess I should finish preparing the snacks, then. Oh, but you can go ahead and wait there for me,” he added, nodding toward the bedroom door. “It shouldn't take more than a couple minutes, I bet.”
“Hm...” Kabru considered for a moment, stroking his chin. “I think I would like to go to the bathroom first.” He definitely needed to wash his face, at the very least, as well as see what kind of state his hair was in after all that unnecessary running, and hopefully empty his bladder while he was at it. One had to make the most out of having access to a private bathroom, as the public restrooms on campus were pretty sparse and invariably repulsive. Kabru avoided using them whenever he could. Such was the intensity of his repulsion that he would rather wait hours to use a friend's bathroom instead, even at the cost of giving himself a painful UTI. Holm had scolded him for it in the past, though he understood where Kabru was coming from, too.
For some inexplicable reason, a majority of people who used public restrooms seemed to suffer from a strange affliction that rendered them incapable of aiming into the bowl or properly disposing of toilet paper, amongst other things (Kabru had his suspicions as to how many people neglected to wash their hands afterwards, too, but there wasn't nearly as much physical evidence to go off for that one). By all accounts, it was strange just how ubiquitous the phenomenon seemed to be across men’s and women’s restrooms alike. Barring circumstances that would make it difficult to aim, such as intoxication, the task should not be especially hard for most able-bodied individuals, Kabru thought. He felt particularly qualified to speak on the subject due to having made a switch from one method to the other, and, despite being at a significant disadvantage due to his anatomy, never having any issues with his aim (once he got the hang of it, that is). One had to wonder, then, if it was a matter of deliberate malice, or perhaps some kind of inside joke that he wasn't in on. Whatever the case may have been, while the topic was undeniably fascinating from a sociological – and physiological – point of view, Kabru had no desire to investigate it himself.
“Oh, yeah, go ahead,” Laios said, giving a thumbs-up. “I guess I'll see you there. In my bedroom, I mean. Not the bathroom,” he clarified awkwardly, and promptly ducked into the kitchen.
Kabru headed into the bathroom and made a beeline for the mirror. A groan came out of him at the sight of his own wet, flushed face and messy hair. He carefully combed his fingers through his hair in an effort to fix it, splashed some water in his face and gently patted it down with a towel, and checked his reflection once again. Good enough, he supposed, and went on to do the rest of his business in the bathroom – making sure to thoroughly wash his hands, of course. Then, finally, he made his way to Laios’ bedroom, spotting him still in the kitchen as he passed by. Once he found himself in Laios’ room, he put his bag down by the door and headed straight for the bunk bed. He climbed the ladder to the top bunk and sat there amongst Laios’ plushies, admiring the posters on the wall and the ceiling. The latter made him feel uneasy, as he couldn't help but imagine it coming loose in the night and falling directly on top of his face, like some kind of large bat, and suffocating him in his sleep. Evidently, Laios wasn't too concerned with that possibility. He likely would have found the argument that the poster could get damaged in the process way more convincing.
Laios came in a moment later, bearing a platter of food arranged in a manner that was intended to be aesthetically pleasing. Apple slices, miniature sandwiches, some with ham and cheese, some with cheese and tomato, and little pretzels – all in all, a respectable selection of snacks, conveniently bite-sized so that one did not have to worry about not being able to finish them. Laios stopped in the middle of the room, looking around in confusion, until finally he spotted Kabru on the top bunk and a look of relief came on his face. He handed the platter to Kabru (who was extremely grateful that he didn't attempt to climb the ladder without putting it aside first) and soon joined him on the bed, sitting opposite him with his hands on his knees. Kabru placed the platter in Laios' lap and scooted over so that he could rest his head against his shoulder. Laios hummed approvingly. “Aah, there we go! Now this is nice,” he said as he picked up a handful of mini-pretzels. “Anyway, your class was cancelled again, huh? Does that kind of thing happen often?”
“Not nearly as often as some would have liked,” Kabru remarked humorously. “Longer periods of absence are usually announced in advance – whenever possible, of course – but university professors are just as susceptible to bouts of illness, accidents, and random life events that might prevent them from going to work as the rest of us, so occasionally you will find out that your class has been cancelled moments before it was scheduled to take place, as was the case this time. Now, in theory, it should be possible to find someone who would be able to fill in, using materials intended for the class, but that's not really common practice at university, where the subjects are often so niche that there's only a handful of people qualified to speak on them with authority. Besides, it would be hard to arrange a replacement on such short notice.” Kabru picked up a cheese-and-tomato sandwich and squeezed it between his fingers before finally popping it in his mouth. “Generally speaking, I don't like missing classes for any reason,” he went on, pursing his lips, “but if it allows me to spend more time with you, then I suppose I can let it slide.”
“Aha...” Laios chewed on his pretzels, blinking slowly. “Yeah, I guess. It sucks that you had to miss it, but I'm really glad that you got to come over. Good thing that your university is so close, huh? It's gonna be super convenient for you when you move in here in a few months. You're never gonna have to worry about being late to class. Ah, that reminds me!” He snapped his fingers. “You know, I've been thinking... Maybe I could visit you on campus from time to time? Between classes, I mean! Like, I could bring you lunch, walk you from one class to the next, stuff like that. O-only if you want to, obviously! I just thought,” he went on explaining, twiddling his thumbs, “that we could spend a little more time together this way. It's not much, but I figure it's better than nothing...”
“Oh.” Kabru covered his mouth with his hand and tapped his lips with his index finger. His eyes twinkled curiously, looking off into the distance. “Hmm... I suppose I could make a copy of my schedule and give it to you...” he murmured under his breath, deep in thought. It was a decision that had to be carefully considered. On the one hand, it would definitely be easier to organise their time together if Laios was familiar with his schedule. On the other, giving Laios access to this information could potentially backfire on him in some yet unspecified, ominous way. However, the strong, undeniable appeal of the prospect of being accompanied by Laios on his many walks across campus made him far less inclined to care about such things at the moment. “Yes, I would like that. So long as it doesn't inconvenience you in any way, of course,” he added quickly.
“Of course not!” Laios assured him, eagerly shaking his head. “It's not a problem at all! I wouldn't have said anything if it was. It doesn't even matter if I have work or not, since I'm gonna be in the area either way. I could always sneak out for a few minutes if I have to. It's not like anybody's gonna notice that I'm not there, I bet, so I 'm not even gonna get in trouble for it.”
“Well,” Kabru said, hiding his smile behind his hand, “I would certainly hope that you wouldn't get in trouble. Please, don't do anything reckless for my sake, Laios. I expressly forbid it.”
“Don't worry, I won't,” Laios assured him, dismissively waving his hand. “Even if I did, it would totally be worth it, though. You're worth getting in trouble for,” he added emphatically, glancing at Kabru from the corner of his eye to gauge his reaction.
Kabru's heart skipped a beat. He reached out to stroke Laios' cheek with his finger, and a wave of fondness washed over him when Laios instinctively leaned into his touch. What a cute boy, deeply trusting and endlessly devoted to him, all of which filled Kabru with an immense sense of guilt, as he did nothing to deserve it. He leaned in to press a kiss to Laios' lips, but hesitated just as they were about to make contact. Laios looked up at him quizzically, tilting his head. “Pardon the interruption,” Kabru murmured apologetically, “but I need to ask you something first. It's going to bother me otherwise, you understand. Please, be honest with me...” He squeezed his eyes shut and cleared his throat. “...Are you absolutely sure that you want to be my boyfriend?”
“Wha…?” Laios' eyes grew wide from shock. “O-obviously, I do!” he cried, putting his hand over his heart. “Hey, what brought this on? Why are you asking me that all of a sudden?” he asked anxiously. “I mean, we already talked about all of that stuff, right? So, then... Did I do something to make you think I changed my mind since then? Or, maybe,”he added, his face growing pale, “you don't want me anymore? Is that it?” He looked off to the side, his eyebrows drawn into a scowl. “That's it, huh?” he muttered under his breath. “Sorry for wasting your time.”
“Oh, no, no!” Kabru insisted, shaking his head, and gently tugged on Laios' sleeve. “Listen! That's not what I meant at all! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to give you the impression that you did anything wrong. Perhaps I should have been more careful with my words. In any case, what I meant by that question is...” He took a deep breath. “When I thought back on our conversations over the weekend, I realised that, in my effort to establish the terms of our relationship as quickly and efficiently as possible,” he explained, looking down at his hands, “I may have neglected to get your input on some pretty important matters. For instance, I called you my boyfriend because it felt appropriate to do so, and since you didn't raise an objection, I didn't give the matter any more thought at the time, but then...” He scrunched up his nose in shame. “It occurred to me that I failed to ensure that the two of us had a shared definition of the term in the context of our relationship, or, hell, that you wanted to define it in any terms at all. In any case, I should not have forced it on you the way I did. I figured that I should bring the matter to your attention as soon as possible, so... here we are.”
“Ohhh...” Laios sighed with relief, calming down instantly. “Whew! All right, that's not as bad as I thought!” He considered the matter for a moment, chewing on an apple slice. “So that's what it's about, huh? I had no idea that it bothered you this much.” he murmured, stroking his chin, and lightly shook his head. “Honestly, that's not how I took it at all. I mean, I didn't feel like you forced anything on me, since we both wanted the same thing anyway. You're just the only one who had the guts to say it. When you called me your boyfriend,” he went on, smiling subconsciously, “I was pretty relieved, actually. Obviously, I figured that you liked me, since you already told me that, but I wasn't sure if that meant that we were dating now, or what, so hearing you say that really cleared things up for me. If you didn't say anything, I would've still been wondering about it, I bet. Besides,” he added, scratching his flushed cheek, “whenever you call me your boyfriend, it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside, so that's probably a good sign, right? ”
Kabru smiled weakly. “Seems like it,” he said softly, and began running his fingers through Laios' hair. “Well, in that case, I will continue to call you my boyfriend guilt-free. I'm curious, though... How should I put this...?” Kabru stroked his bottom lip. “What does it mean to you, to be my boyfriend? What does it mean for me to be yours? What do you make of it all?”
“Mm? Uh...” Laios furrowed his brow. “I haven't really thought about that. I mean, what is there to talk about? It's pretty obvious, right?” He offered a shrug and a light shake of the head. “What it means is... hell, I don't know. It means that... that you like me enough to wanna spend time with me and do all of the things we do, I guess. It means that you've tamed me and I've tamed you,” he went on, “and now we're responsible for each other for as long as we're together.”
“Ah!” Kabru's eyes twinkled. “That's from The Little Prince, isn't it?”
“Oh, yeah! Yeah, it is,” Laios hummed affirmatively. “Look,” he added, sighing, “I'm not as good with words as you are. I mean, obviously. I've been trying to figure out how I should talk about this stuff, but it's really hard. How should I know what any of this means? I've never been in a relationship before! I know you haven't either, but clearly you have a better idea of how it's supposed to work than I do. That's why I've been following along with whatever you say. I don't think that's a bad thing. I mean, I don't mind it. All I know is that being with you makes me happy, and being called your boyfriend feels really nice, and I don't really need anything more than that.” He paused for a moment. “Aah, obviously, I have no idea if you feel the same way about it. I'm not gonna know unless you tell me. But everything seems to be going pretty well so far, so there's probably nothing to worry about, you know?” he suggested hopefully.
“Perhaps you're right about that,” Kabru said, gently rubbing his shoulder. “Ah, it seems like I was worried for no reason,” he sighed, shaking his head. “I'm sorry. I feel silly now. ”
“Ah, no, it's fine. I get it. It's easy to get worked up about stuff like that if you think about it too hard. That's why I gotta learn to pick your battles,” Laios observed wisely. “You know, I really wish I was better with words,” he added, with a hint of frustration in his voice. “Then I'd be able to tell you all about my feelings, like you did that time when I asked you why you liked me.”
“Oh.” Kabru grimaced. “You remember that...?”
“Sure I do! I mean, I don't remember the words or anything. I was pretty out of it at that point,” Laios admitted, “but I remember that you said a lot of nice things about me.”
“Haha... That's probably all you need to know,” Kabru said, somewhat relieved. “For what it's worth, I believe that I've been able to understand your feelings pretty well, even when you've struggled to express them in words,” he added, scratching Laios behind the ear. “I certainly feel very appreciated in this relationship. I can only hope that I've made you feel appreciated, too.” He fell silent for a moment. “To be honest, there is one more thing that I wanted to clarify with you. It might be nothing, but in case it isn't, I would rather get it out of the way now.” He cleared his throat. “Please... Don't think that I'm dating you because I'm a nice person.”
Laios blinked. “Huh? You are nice, though. Really nice.”
“Well, I'm glad that you think so, but...” Kabru sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose between his fingers. “What I meant by that is, I don't want you to think that I only agreed to be with you out of the goodness of my heart, or pity, or that I was trying to do you a favour, or anything of that sort. You don't owe me anything. I pursued you out of purely selfish desire. Do you understand?”
“Ohh...” Laios nodded thoughtfully. “Yeah, got it!” He picked up another mini-sandwich, but didn't put it in his mouth. “Was there something else you wanted to clear up, or are we done with all of that? I wanna know if it's okay for us to move on to something else.”
“Ah, um,” Kabru stammered awkwardly. “I think that's everything for now...”
“Cool. If anything new comes up, let me know. Otherwise, we don't have to come back to it ever again,” Laios said decisively, and put the sandwich up to Kabru's lips. “Say 'aah'.”
As soon as Kabru opened his mouth, Laios popped the sandwich into his mouth, putting a definitive end to the conversation.