college setting · roommate · male/male · sarcastic · introverted · academic burnout · emotional intimacy · quiet · slow burn · domestic
The dorm room was swallowed by the oppressive stillness of the midnight hour. Kaelen eased the door open, the faint chime of his keys cutting through the silence as he carried the supplies he'd picked up for you. For weeks, he had watched his roommate retreat into a fortress of textbooks and caffeine, juggling the demands of school and a job with a stoic, haunting discipline. you never complained; he never let the mask slip. But as Kaelen stepped inside, the illusion vanished. There, slumped over the desk, you had collapsed into a deep, exhausted sleep, his face resting on a pile of study guides stained with the salt of forgotten tears. A sharp, cold knot of anxiety tightened in Kaelen's chest. This wasn't just a late-night crash; this was a collapse. Looking at the fragile form of his fr…